Famous Cricketers No 63 - A.O.Jones

If there is doubt about the origins of the gully fielding position, there is also uncertainty concerning the derivation of the word. The Clarendon Street cricket ground on which Arthur Owen played is not as flat as a modern arena. It undulates all around the square and must make ground fielding difficult. The idea of standing in a gully to field is quite plausible but could equally be applied to point, square leg and many other positions. There is no one indentation which could be identified as gully, at either end. It is possible that the word comes from “gull” which means to deceive or fool, as in gullible. A comment in an article by G.J.V.Weigall, written after Nottinghamshire had won the Championship, gives some support to this idea. Arthur Owen may well have initiated the practice of fielding in the gully, but his School has no tradition of his doing so. The assertion must, therefore, be treated with some caution. It would be typical of the man if the story were true. He was a keen thinker about all aspects of the game and was willing to try new ideas to see if they would work. What is beyond doubt is that he fielded with distinction at gully in particular and close to the wicket in general, taking many outstanding catches and bringing off a host of remarkable run outs. In his early days, Jones was an accomplished out-fielder. F.S.Ashley-Cooper wrote, “He had ability, intuition, a strong and accurate throw and the ability to gather the ball without slackening speed.” Regarding Arthur Owen’s batting, he said he, “crouched over his bat and bent his knees, appearing somewhat ungainly, but by the time the ball reached him, he was at his full height with no suggestion of awkwardness.” He also said of Jones that, “his belief was that the bat was intended as a weapon for hitting the ball.” Ashley-Cooper suggests that Jones was not interested in theories of batting but simply played his natural game. “His wrists were so strong that some of his cuts had the force of drives.” Jones was noted as an exponent of the cut in front of square, which he executed with a “slashing, slicing” action. He also had a very sound defence when playing back. P.F.Warner later wrote that “Jonah was a dashing and daring batsman, whose hitting on the off-side used to make point and cover point tremble, and though he had an awkward straddle at the crease, his forcing strokes were always free and graceful.” His obituary in the Dunstable Borough Gazette says, “Mr. Jones had his first real experience of the game at Bedford Modern School. There he attracted the notice of the late Arthur Shrewsbury who at once expressed the highest opinion of his ability.” The School has no tradition of an association with the great batsman, who began his career with Nottinghamshire in 1875. It is more likely that, during the school holidays, the Jones family went to stay with relatives of Mrs. Jones, in Nottinghamshire, and that an uncle took Arthur Owen to Trent Bridge and arranged for him to have a trial with the Club. Arthur Shrewsbury would have been impressed by the young man’s enthusiasm alone, besides his abilities at batting, bowling and fielding. He was eventually rewarded by being picked to play for the Notts Colts against the County XI at the beginning of the 1892 season. Arthur Owen Jones left his beloved Bedford Modern at Christmas 1890, aged 18 years, having reached the Upper Fifth Form in West House. He then attended Jesus College, Cambridge. Although he is best known for his exploits on the cricket field, Arthur Owen commenced his rugby career during the winter of 1889/90. He turned out twice for Bedford this year and once in 1890/91, playing 18 matches for them over a five year period. He then moved on to play for Blackheath and Burton-on-Trent before making 224 appearances for Leicester during twelve seasons, in five of which he was their captain. Further details of his rugby career can be found in the last two books in the bibliography. 7